Trends & Indicators Archive: Demography 2014

Demography 2014

To best serve the region, higher education leaders and policymakers must know the population they are serving. To that end, this section of Trends & Indicators explores demography with an eye toward higher education.

Among other findings, recent demographic data reveal:

While population growth in all the six New England states has lagged behind the rest of the nation since 2000, it nearly ground to a halt in 2013, including growth rates of less than 1% in all but three counties in the region. All three counties with population growth above 1% were in Massachusetts.

New England’s lack of growth via natural increases (greater numbers of births than deaths) is expected to continue, as the region’s population becomes older than the rest of the country’s, with 44% of New England residents over age 45 compared to the country’s 41%. In fact, the three Northern New England states (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont) have the highest median ages in the country. Importantly, this aging trend means a large share of New England women are beyond childbearing age.

Figure DEM 3: Primary Source of Population Growth by New England County, 2012 to 2013

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Note: Natural increase is made up of both births and deaths. Migration is made up of both net migration and net international migration. Equal indicates population growth driven equally by natural increase and net migration.

Note: People who identify their origin as Hispanic/Latino may be of any race. In this chart, race categories start at 0° (or "noon" on an analog clock) and continue to the right (or "clockwise") in order of the legend.

Figure DEM 9: Share of Population by Household Income in New England, 1999 and 2012

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Note: 1999 income estimates are in 1999 dollars while 2012 income estimates are in 2012 dollars. Inflation rose approximately 38% from 1999 to 2012. For reference, the poverty threshold for a family of four in 1999 was $18,103; in 2012, it was $23,492.